Aimee Bender's debut collection of stories, The Girl In the Flammable Skirt , was celebrated by critics as being "hilarious, deep, and a little bit dirty," as well as "fierce and true... fantastic!" The book, a 1998 New York Times notable book, was followed by An Invisible Sign of My Own , which was selected by the Los Angeles Times as one of its best works of fiction of 2000. Bender's stories have appeared in Granta, GQ, Story, Harper's, Tin House, McSweeney's , and many other journals. She teaches creative writing at the University of Southern California.

Reed's visiting writers series, which takes place in both the spring and fall of each year, brings acclaimed contemporary writers to read at the campus for the enjoyment of the public and the Reed community. The spring 2004 visiting writers series will continue on Thursday, February 26, with a reading from Gina Ochsner, a writer of short stories. The poet David Hernandez will conclude the series on April 8.